Page 39 of Once Upon a Prince

“You know me so well,” I laughed. “But it was also torture to be so close to you. To be working by your side and not be able to do all the things that I wanted to do.”

“What were those things?” she asked.

I leaned in and whispered in her ear, “You vixen.”

Ella shivered and I kept my mouth next to hers. “I wanted to hold your hand,” I said and squeezed her hand. “I wanted to whisper in your ear, ‘you are the sexiest thing I have ever seen.’ I wanted to brush my lips against your neck and feel you shiver under my touch.” I kissed her neck and got the exact reaction I wanted. “And so many other things that I can’t do here and now, but I will.”

“When?” Ella asked breathlessly.

I wanted to tell her we could do it right now, that we could leave the event and go back to her room. I wanted to say that we could blow off the night and be just the two of us, but I couldn’t do that. As much as I wanted her, as much as I wanted to be alone with her, there was still work that needed to be done.

“Soon,” I answered and then laughed, “But not soon enough.”

Ella tightened her hold on me and tilted her head so she could whisper in my ear, “I will hold you to that as long as you promise to hold other things to me.”

“Damn woman, you’re going to be the death of me,” I moaned.

In response, Ella let out a throaty laugh. “The feeling is mutual.”

She squeezed my hand and then stepped away. The song had ended and we clapped for the band. I wanted to take her into my arms for another song but I didn’t get a chance to as one of my clients came up to us.

It was hours later that the evening started to wind down and I felt that we could leave. Ella had indeed been the bell of the ball, charming my clients, talking, laughing, flattering, even dancing with a few. The organization knew how to throw a soiree and it went into the wee hours of the morning. I could see that Ella was having a great time and I loved watching her talk and dance with everyone.

I was able to steal a few more dances with her but it wasn’t enough. I had to share her with everyone last week but now I was ready to have her on my own. I wanted to concentrate on us, just us and no one else. I wanted her in my bed and had hoped that it would happen that night but as the evening turned into morning, I knew that wasn’t going to happen. I rationalized that I had waited a long time to be with Ella, I could wait one more day.

As we were getting ready to leave, I saw Ella talking to the director of the gala. She was so natural with her as they laughed and talked easily. It had been seamless how Ella had come to matter in my work life and she had come to matter in my personal life too. Being involved with me and the work that I did wasn’t easy for any woman. She would need to come to more events like this, being on my arm, charming people, and looking incredible yet nature while doing it. It was easy to see that Ella would excel in those endeavors as she had all others.

Standing there watching her, I fell and fell hard for her. She was the most incredible woman I had ever met and I couldn’t wait to show her how much she had come to mean to me.

“Are you ready to leave the ball my princess?” I asked Ella as I approached the women.

“Oh, look at you. I was just telling Natalie how this was the most beautiful ball and I had felt a little like a princess.”

“It’s wonderful to hear that you had such a great time. You should let your prince take you home. Hopefully we will be in touch and I will see you next year,” Natalie said.

“I would love that. Thank you for a wonderful evening,” Ella said.

“The pleasure was ours. Have a good night,” Natalie said and walked away.

Ella turned to me and smiled. Even through the mask I could see how tired she was, happy but tired. Lifting her shoes, I teased, “Did you forget something?”

“Oh, thank you. I have no idea where I lost them. Where did you find them?” she asked.

“Over by our table. Do you want to put them back on?”

“My feet are sore from dancing and I don’t want to but I should.” She reached as if she was going to take them from me but I stopped.

“No, let me.” I motioned to a bench behind her and Ella went and sat down. Kneeling in front of her, I lifted the dress away from her ankles. My hands brushed up against her skin and my body tightened. Ella let out a jagged sigh. I didn’t look at her as I slipped first one shoe and then the other onto her feet.

When I was done, I slowly lifted my head and looked up at her. Her mouth was open slightly and there was a light blush to her cheeks. My hand slid up her right leg to her calf and gave it a light squeeze. I wanted to do more, I wanted to touch more, but it wasn’t the time or the place.

Reluctantly, I stood up and took her hands in mine so she could stand next to me. “Come, Ella, it’s well past midnight, I should get you home.”

Chapter 23

Ella

“Why won’t you tell me where we are going?” I asked Dax.